


The Birth of Echidnia

by GalacticDefender4679



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Nation-Building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-16 01:55:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19308268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalacticDefender4679/pseuds/GalacticDefender4679
Summary: Having lived on an empty island long enough, Knuckles resolves to find other echidna clans and unite them under a single banner on Angel Island. But will he be able to endure the trials that lay ahead of him or die trying?As a warning, this (as well as almost all my other stories about Sonic and his team) will feature more a more anthro interpretation of Mobians, requiring beings of all species and genders to wear clothes, not just women.





	1. The Journey Begins

Angel Island; a beautiful but mysterious mass hovering far above the surface of planet Mobius for as long as it has existed. Long ago, its beaches and jungles were home to a great tribe of echidna warriors known as the Knuckles Clan. But a disaster now known to have been the great water spirit Chaos nearly wiped the tribe out of existence before he was defeated and sealed away until Dr. Eggman released it, hoping to achieve control over him and use his power to conquer the world. Naturally, this plan didn’t work but it was only after Chaos was defeated that the last remaining member of the Knuckles Clan began thinking about his place in the world now. His name was… Knuckles.

Okay, his parents might not have been the most creative when it came to kid-names, but when your kid is gonna be guarding a 3-ton emerald with the power of the cosmos for his whole life and punching hard enough to cause tremors, does it really matter? I thought not.

Anyway, Knuckles has guarded the great Master Emerald since he was a child, making sure it stays in its holy shrine on the island. But recently, his thoughts from after the Chaos incident (as it’s called) have returned to him and made him less focused on his duty. Thankfully the Master Emerald now also has protectors in the form of the now-reformed Chaos and his eternal ghost companion Tikal.

“Something on your mind, Guardian?” she asked as she floated over to his side.

“Nothing major,” he shrugged. “Just thinking.”

“While wearing traditional armor?” And Tikal was right; Knuckles was wearing his clan’s traditional wood, cloth, and stone armor. “Must be a very specific ‘nothing major’.”

Knuckles sighed. “Alright, ya got me,” he said. “I’m thinking about the island.”

“What about it?”

“Well, back in your day it was this huge metropolis humming with life, right?” he asked.

“Of course. Why?”

“Well listen,” he said as they both put a hand to their ears and heard nothing but the ambient chirping and growling of native non-Mobian animals. “I can’t exactly hear the hum.”

“Then what do you want to do about it?” asked Tikal.

“Well the Nocturnus Clan is still around after all these centuries, so I know there have to be other echidna clans out there somewhere,” he said vaguely.

“I suppose it’s possible. What do you plan to do?”

“I plan on going out into the world and finding out if any other clans still exist.” Knuckles said with an unfamiliar drive in his voice. “And if they do, I’ll form alliances with them and bring them all here so we can rebuild our once great civilization.”

Tikal was truly inspired by Knuckles’ passion and drive and she smiled at the echidna. “A noble aspiration if there ever was one, Knuckles,” she mused. “But how are you going to find the other clans?”

“I was thinking of checking in with Tails. He’s got his finger on the pulse when it comes to the weird stuff that happens on this planet,” Knuckles shrugged. “And if someone saw or even heard about another echidna clan on Mobius other than me, they would’ve reported it and he would’ve heard about it.”

Tikal wasn’t convinced that was enough to go off of, but she shrugged. “I suppose that’s as good as any idea I could come up with, but very well.” Then she bowed to the guardian. “Chaos and I will keep watch over the island while you are away. I wish you luck on your journey, Guardian Knuckles.”

Knuckles smirked and gave a small nod as he grabbed a cloak from his nearby shack, pulled it on and rocketed away to the island coast, where he quickly jumped and started gliding toward the city.

Miles “Tails” Prower was one of Knuckles’ closest friends as well as a major tech-head, able to build a full-on biplane in under an hour and a half. Not what one would expect from an adolescent gold-furred fox with a white muzzle and twin tails (hence his nickname) but if the hi-tech body-armor he’s built for himself is any indication, nothing is ever as it seems.

It also helps Knuckles’ crusade immensely that he had surveillance technology in every major city or port of entry on the planet. Although… “Sorry Knuckles, but I got nothing for ya on that front.” That didn’t mean it always picked up exactly what someone wanted to hear.

“Cmon Tails, you’ve gotta have something!” Knuckles said in distress.

“Only rumors, theories, and possible locations.”

“That’s all I need. Just give me that and I’ll handle the rest,” he said simply, extending a hand.

“Fine.” Tails sighed as he handed Knuckles a printed piece of paper with a long list of rumor-hearings and location ideas. “But are you sure you want to do this alone?”

“I’m sure,” Knuckles reassured as he adjusted and tightened his cloak. “They’re _my_ people. And it’s _my_ crusade. I have to do this alone.” Knuckles looked back at his friend’s genuinely concerned face and smiled. “But if things get too dicey for me to handle alone, I’ll give you and Sonic a call. You know I’ve got your frequency.”

“Yeah.” Tails relented to his friend’s stubbornness and smiled. “Good luck, man.”

“Thanks. Something tells me I might need it.” And with that, Knuckles confidently strode off, out of the lab and into the unknown.


	2. Diggers (pt. 1)

The wide plains of Green Hill Zone were not where Knuckles was expecting to first go in order to find a clan, but if what Tails’ notes said was true, a group of humans out on a hike said they saw a group of orange echidnas near the zone’s hills. Finding the area where they had been seen in was very simple for a seasoned treasure hunter like him, but he still couldn’t see anything major. Until he checked the ground and saw a beaten dirt trail leading in two directions. And it was lined in footprints.

He quickly knelt to get a closer look and smiled at the familiar shape. The same shape as that of his own feet. “ _I knew it_.” Then he scrapped some of the soil up into his hand and gave it a strong smell. “ _Tracks are still fresh, and there’s no return trail. Small party; maybe only two or three echidnas, probably out hunting_.” But then a deeper smell into the air gave him pause. “ _Hmm. No blood on the wind. But…_ ” A few more refined sniffs confused him. “ _Is that nasturtium pollen? Ohhhh, of course; this clan must be vegetarian._ ”

Suddenly… “Wh- Who are you?” The spooked male voice prompted Knuckles to slowly raise his hands as if he was about to surrender.

“My name is Knuckles. I’m the last surviving member of the Knuckles Clan of Angel Island.”

“Knuckles Clan?” This voice was different. Female. Calmly Knuckles turned around to see two echidnas; a brown male with red eyes and a gold-furred female with pale eyes and average-sized breasts, both of whom were wearing traditional garb and unarmed, though the female was carrying a small basket of vegetables. “I feel like I’ve heard of them before. Something concerning their clan-duty…”

“You mean guarding the Master Emerald?” Knuckles’ question surprised the two, especially with how nonchalant he was about it. “Yeah, that’s my job now.”

“Incredible!” The female, however, was held back by her male friend, who seemed apprehensive.

“Hold, Chryso.” Chryso. So that was her name. Named after the chrysoberyl gemstone variety, maybe? “How do we know you’re really of the Knuckles Clan?”

“What, you mean these don’t make it obvious enough?” Knuckles’ question was then followed up by him tensing his powerful muscles enough for his fists to tear through his gloves and reveal the large spikes on his hands.

Chryso and her friend were both stunned. “Incredible.” The male said and quickly bowed in respect. “Please excuse my conduct. It was rude of me, I am heavily aware.”

“Don’t worry about it. I know some guys who make you look like a teddy bear,” Knuckles patted the male on the shoulder and pulled him to his feet. “Now how about you guys tell me your names?”

“Oh of course,” The male put a hand to his chest as he introduced himself. “I am Ignaz, and this is my sister Chryso. We are of the Gemcut Clan in the hills.”

“Gemcut Clan? So what are you guys, miners?” asked Knuckles.

“Exactly. We carve strong stones and precious minerals from the hills, and anonymously distribute them across the world, asking for nothing in return,” Ignaz explained. “Hundreds around the world wear the fruits of our labor and have no idea of it.”

“Huh. Man, if you guys are that good at that, you must be incredibly skilled at stealth. I’m surprised I found your trail.” Knuckles said in genuine admiration.

“This is the path to our clan’s plantation, where we grow all of our food,” Chryso explained. “On our land, we are much less concerned with being seen by outsiders. Which is why you surprised us so much.”

“Yeah, sorry about that by the way. But hey; stealth skills like yours, I bet you could’ve taken me down no sweat.” That made the two stop dead, confusing Knuckles a bit. “What? What’d I say?”

“We Gemcuts may have strength from working in mines, but we are nonviolent vegetarians,” explained Ignaz. “We defend our territory, possessions and people to the last man, no question about it, but we never attack any of our neighbors.” Then he suddenly looked like he had remembered something and scratched his neck. “Or at the very least, it is a rare occurrence. And when any of us _do_ turn hostile, we are shown no mercy by our king.”

“Oh. Well then, I doubt he’d like me all that much,” said Knuckles. “We of the Knuckles Clan pride ourselves on being some of the greatest warriors in Mobian history.”

“Just try not to start anything with anyone and you should be fine. Now come with us.” Ignaz’s order confused Knuckles as he and Chryso walked down the path toward the hills.

“Wait, what are you talking about? Where are we going?” he asked as he quickly caught up.

“To the village. You’ve found us, so you must meet with our king to discuss keeping our secret.”

Knuckles quickly recognized what Ignaz was offering him; this was his chance to begin building his nation of echidnas. All he had to do was meet with the king and give him his proposal and he was on his way. “Well then… lead on.” And lead Ignaz did, all the way to a large stone door in the hill, which confused Knuckles to no end. “You guys live in a cave?”

“Yes. It is where the ancestors first made their homes, and as is our way, we must honor the ancestors,” explained Chryso. Ignaz had apparently finished speaking with the guards outside the doors, as he walked back to the two.

“Everything is set. Ezzor and Krag will escort you to the king’s palace.” He pointed to the guards. “Once there, you may meet with his Majesty and agree to keep our existence a secret.”

“Of course.” Naturally, Knuckles had a different plan in mind, but went along with it as the guards opened the large stone doors to reveal a surprisingly sprawling civilization built into the cave; houses, storefronts, and a large mineshaft off to one side almost all carved from pure stone.

“Welcome to Gemcut City.” said one of the guards. Knuckles was understandably in awe, but then he felt a bump on the shoulder from the other guard.

“Wha- hey. What?” he asked.

“You may be an echidna, but we are still unsure if you can be trusted. Stay in front of us for the trip and you’ll be fine. Go anywhere without our volition, and we won’t hesitate to disable you.” said the guard.

“Understood.” Knuckles nodded as the three then walked through the streets of the subterranean city, which was actually surprisingly well-lit. Knuckles wasn’t sure this was a good idea, but he figured it couldn’t hurt to check. “Would it be alright if I asked you guys a few questions?”

“I’m afraid not.” said the first guard. “You will have to hold all your questions until your audience with the king.”

“Can I at least ask who’s who between you two? Ignaz was less than clear on that.”

“I don’t see the harm in that,” the second guard shrugged. “I am Ezzor. This is Krag.”

“Pleasure.” Knuckles smiled. Finally, the three made it all the way up to the doors of the large palace, which then opened, allowing Knuckles to be led to the large royal throne-room to see the king was a strong-looking charcoal-black echidna with almost unfittingly green eyes.

“Speak, Ezzor. Who is this outsider you have brought before me?” he asked in a deep voice that nearly made Knuckles want to shudder.

“My liege, this one was found on the plantation-trail by Farmer Antok’s children,” the guard bowed as he explained. “He claims he is the last of the Knuckles Clan.”

“Is this true, red one?”

“It is, your majesty. My parents named me Knuckles, in honor of our clan, before they disappeared when I was hatched.” Knuckles explained. “And I am now the eternal guardian of the Master Emerald.”

“I see. I am Baldrn, king of the Gemcut Clan and protector of my people. What business do you have in my city? Do you wish to join our great society?” asked the king.

“Sort of,” Knuckles’ vagueness confused the king, but he quickly explained. “I always believed there were other clans of echidnas on Mobius other than my own, and well… Angel Island has gotten a bit lonely in the past few years.”

“And what would you have me do about this?” asked Baldrn.

“Simple. I wish to rebuild the once great civilization my people built on Angel Island. But I know I can’t do that myself.” Then he moved to slowly approach the king. “Therefore I wish to join all clans together into a single nation on the island, where no echidna needs to worry about being alone again. I was hoping your people would be the first clan to join this new national coalition I’m starting. Interested?”

Baldrn glared at the red echidna with an almost unreadable expression on his face, though Knuckles could tell he was thinking. “I will consider it. But first, I must see how far you are willing to go in order for this alliance of yours to become a reality.”

“Your Majesty, I would lay down my title as guardian, my very _life_ , to see my people reunited.” Knuckles said strongly.

Baldrn seemed unconvinced. “I’m afraid I will require proof of this conviction before I make my choice.”

“Fine. What do you want me to do?”

“I’ve heard that you of the Knuckles Clan are also exceptional treasure hunters.” Knuckles knew this was true, but he was unclear as to the king’s motivation for asking this. “My daughter Princess Emera was recently abducted by outsiders. They claimed in the ransom note they left in her chambers to have her somewhere nearby, but they did not say where _exactly_. Thus I ask of you this; find the abductors and report to me where I should send the ransom they requested of 5 million in, and I quote, ‘shinies’.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” groaned Knuckles.

“What is it? Do you know who did this?” asked the king.

“Tch. Unfortunately. They’re a three-man gang from the surface called the Hooligans; a weasel sniper, a duck with a serious hording problem, and a mute polar bear,” Knuckles explained. “Thankfully, since we’ve ‘done business’ several times before, I know them like the back of my hand, so I know two things about them: 1; their transport has a serious mileage problem, so they won’t have gone far. 2; they almost always hide in caves within walking distance of both their bike and a cell-tower so they can call for a tow-truck. Therefore, I already know where they are.”

“That quickly?”

“Like I said, I know how they work. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be right back.”

“Wait, if you already know where they are, you are to tell me so I may send the ransom.”

“Trust me king, stupid as these guys may be, they’re not gonna let your daughter go once they get the ransom. They’ll either take her prisoner or just straight-up kill her,” Knuckles’ bluntness stunned the king, but he just smirked. “So if you’ll just give me… I dunno, five minutes? Ten tops. I’ll be right back with your daughter and her captors.”

“But-”

“King, seriously. Listen to me. My previous interactions with these idiots haven’t exactly worked out in their favor, so they’ve become such cowards that all I need to do is walk up to them and they’ll surrender. ‘Cept maybe Bark, but I can take him. Later.”  With that in mind, Knuckles confidently walked out of the cave to the nearest cell-tower to the cave to find that the Hooligans had in-fact set up a camp between the dead bike and the large tower, which Nack was apparently climbing to try and get a better signal while Bean and Bark were standing guard near a female echidna with bright green fur, amber eyes and a body like a supermodel.

“ _Alright, that’s my mark. This is gonna be a piece of cake._ ” Then he noticed something in the ground; triggers. Apparently, Bean had set up a perimeter of subterranean mines around them. “ _Well, at least he’s getting a **little** smarter._” Seeing no way around the mines, Knuckles quickly drew a mental line between himself and the princess and started digging, drilling under the mines toward the princess. But suddenly he heard a large volley of explosions, followed by what sounded like panicking from Bean and Bark. “ _Hmm. Must’ve set off the mines with the vibrations from my drilling._ ” He smirked. “ _That oughtta confuse ‘em._ ” Then he stopped, knowing he had landed directly under Princess Emera and shot his hands up out of the ground, grabbing the princess’ thighs. Clearly, she was scared as she screamed, but Knuckles quickly pulled her down into his tunnel and clapped his hand onto her mouth. “SHH! Quiet. I’m here to save you.”

“Who _are_ you?” she asked.

“Name’s Knuckles. Your dad hired me to save you. Stay here, I’m gonna go have some fun with our friends up there.” With that in mind, Knuckles climbed up out of his hole and pulled himself to his feet right between the two Hooligans, who were still freaking out at something they thought was at the edge of their camp. Knuckles smiled. “ _Oh, this is just too easy_.”


End file.
